Monday, October 20, 2008

(Kanipaakam)Lord Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka, KanipakkamThe famous temple of Sri Varasidhi Vinayaka of Kanipakkam is situated onChittoor - Aragoondu Road. Kanipakkam is closer to Karnataka and Tamilnadustate borders. The word 'Kani' means 'wetland' and 'Parakam' means 'floor ofwater into the wetland'. This name follows a legend that is connected to thetemple.Once upon a time there lived three farmers with physical deformities. They weredumb, deaf and blind by birth. They owned a piece of land. In olden days waterwas drawn from the well by way of 'Piccota System'. As one of them used toirrigate the field through the channels, the other two used to ply on thePiccota. On one such operation they found that the water in the well got driedup and they could no longer continue their job. One of them got into the welland started digging it up. He was taken aback to see the iron implement hittinga stone like formation. Later, he was shocked to see blood oozing out from it.Within in a few seconds the entire water in the well, turned blood red incolour. Thus, startled by this divine sight, all the three became normalgetting rid of their deformities. As soon as the villagers came to know aboutthis miracle, they thronged to the well and tried to deepen the well further.But their attempt proved futile because the'swayambhu' idol (the self-manifested) of Lord Vinayaka emerged from theswirling waters. After this miracle, coconuts were offered and the theerthamfrom the coconuts covered the entire area. This led to the modification in theusage of the word 'Kaniparakam' and was later pronounced as 'Kanipakkam'. Eventoday the idol is in the original well and the springs of the well areperennial and eternal. During the rainy season, the holy water from the welloverflows even today. Another striking and strange feature of the idol is thatit is still growing in size. At present, we can see the knees and the abdomenof the idol. Smt. Lakshmamma, an ardent devotee had offered a 'Kavacham'(Armour) to the Lord, fifty years ago but today it is out of size and doesn'tfit the idol. The holy water from the well is offered to the devotees astheertham. The legend behind Bahuda RiverLong ago there lived two brothers Sankha and Likhita. They were on a pilgrimageto Kanipakkam. As the journey was tiring, the younger brother Likhita felthungry. Disregarding the advice of the elder brother he plucked a mango fromthe mango grove. Sankha felt bad and reported this to the ruler of that areaand pleaded for punishment for the sin committed during the pilgrimage. ThusLikhita was punished severely being deprived of both arms. Later they took bathin the river near Kanipakkam temple. Lo Behold! The chopped arms were restoredto Likhita as soon as he had a dip in the sacred waters of the river. Theseincidents lead the ruler to rename the river as 'Bahuda' (Bahu means humanarm). Thus the river beside Kanipakkam temple is now known as 'Bahuda River'.Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka as up-holder of 'Truth'The swayambhu idol of Kanipakkam is the up-holder of truth. Day to day disputesbetween people are resolved by taking a 'special oath'. The people in thedispute take a holy dip in the temple tank and swear before the lord. It istaken as gospel truth. There are instances when the person who committed thatsin voluntarily agrees as soon as he had the dip and much before entering thetemple itself. It seems the Lord lawns invisibly on the sinner and makes himrepent & feel guilty for his sinful deeds. Thus the glory of Sri VarasiddhiVinayaka spread far and wide and the honourable courts uphold the 'specialoath' in their judicial pronouncements.

Devasthanam is having only 7 rooms nearer to the temple. These rooms are notsufficient to the pilgrims and as soon as land acquisition is finalized, moreChoultries, will be constructed. There is a TTD Choultry adjacent to theDevasthanam Choultry consisting of 15 rooms.Main source of incomeMain source of income to the kanipaka vinayaka temple is by Seva Tickets, Hundi collections, shoprents and land revenue. Administration

A joint commissioner of Endowments Department heads the Devasthanamsadministration. There are 75 employees working in various wings of theestablishment of Devasthanam.Important festivalsThe following are the important annual festivals celebrated in the temple:

Vinayaka Chavithiv Annual Brahmotsavam in kanipaka vinayaka temple

- The annual Brahmotsavam commences fromGanesh Chaturthi. It goes on for 20 days with all traditional pomp and gaiety.The utsavamurthi (Festive idol) is taken out in procession on all the dayscolourfully decked on different vahanams (Carriages). The soulful participationof the devotees is praise worthy. The float festival attracts pilgrims from allover the country.v Ugadi (Telugu New Year Day)v January 1st (New Year)

Detailsof Daily Sevasv Paalabhishekam:

Rs. 50 per ticket - 3 persons allowed.

Thedevotees should bring milk not less than 2 lts.v Special Abhishekam:

Rs. 400: 2persons allowed in the firstinstance along with children and 3 persons will be allowed later.

Devasthanamwill supply Pooja samagri.

Ordinary Abhishekam: Rs. 250: 2 persons allowed inthe first instance along with children and 3 persons will be allowed later.Devasthanam will supply Pooja samagri.

Darshans & Poojasv Special Entrance Darshan: Rs. 5/- per head. v Ordinary queue line: Rs. 1/- perhead.v Nijaroopa Darshan: Rs. 25/- per head and one laddu will be given free ofcost after Darshan.

Namakaranam(Naming Ceremony) : Rs. 116/-. & 1 Brass dollar will begivenSaswatha Poojasv Swaswatha Abhishekam: Rs. 2500/- (Once in a year on aparticular day. Date choosen by the devotee).v Saswatha Ganapathi Homam: Rs.2500/- (Once in a year on a particular day. Date choosen by the devotee).vSaswatha Nithya Pooja: Rs. 516/- (Once in a year on a particular day. Datechoosen by the devotee).v Saswatha Nithya Archana Pooja: Rs. 516/- (Once in ayear on a particular day. Date choosen by the devotee)

.Annadanam in kanipakam vinayaka temple:

Nitya Annadanam started from 1991 onwards. Daily afternoon 150 members areprovided free meals. There is a proposal to extend free meals to more people.

For Nitya Annadanam in kanipakam vinayaka temple:

Rs. 1116/- is the minimum and Rs. 10116/- is the maximumamount. A special bond paper will be given for Rs. 5116/- & Rs. 10116/- andspecial Pooja will be performed once in a year and prasadam will be sent to thedevotees by post i.e., vibhoodi.

Executive Officer

At present the post of Executive Officer is upgraded to the cadre of JointCommissioner, Endowments Department by the Government of AP in GO Ms No. 323,Revenue(Endt) 1) Department, dt. 11.6.2002.

Sub-Temples of kanipaka vinayaka:

Sri Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple.

Sri Varadaraja Swamy Temple

Sri Manikanteswaraswamy temple.

The above three temples are very nearer to the main temple and there is a masterplan to get the three temples in one compound wall. Proposals submitted to theCommissioner to accord sanction and orders are awaited.

How to reach to kanipaka vinayaka temple:

There are regular bus services operated by APSRTC between Tirupati-Kanipakam andChittoor-Kanipakam. There are taxis available from Tirupati from the standsopposite to the bus stand. The nearest railway station is Tirupati.

Temples in and around Kanipakkam

Manikanteswara TempleThe temple of Sri Manikanteswara is very ancient. Archaeologists date this tothe times of Rajakulothunga Chola. The legend is that he built 108 temples byordain of Lord Shiva to relieve him from 'Brahma Hathya Pathakam' (The sin ofkilling Lord Bramha). The temple is famous for its architecture. The exquisitesculpture is an added attraction of the temple.Sri Varadaraja Swami TempleThe temple of Sri Varadarajaswamy makes it a Hari Hara Kshetram. The width &height of compound wall of this temple is amendable and it stands a landmark inthe surroundings. The other temples inside are that of Sri Anjaneya Swamy andthe Navagrahas.Abhishekams and Sevas at Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka TempleSoulful prayers of ardent devotees are well received and performing Abhishekamto the self-manifested idols fulfills all wishes. People affected by chronicdiseases and grahapeedas (Planetary disorders) offer special sevas to theSwayambhu Vigraha (Idol) and are sure to get relieved from the respectiveapplications by His Grace. Kanipakam Tour DailyEvery day AP Tourism bus starts from CRO/Tirumala by 8.00 a.m. and comes back toCRO/Tirupati by 9.15 am and comes back to Tirupati by 5.30 pm.